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Latino Victory

organizationLast updated: January 21, 2019

Overview

Lamenting that “the number of Latinos elected to public office” in the U.S. is “dangerously low,” Latino Victory (LV) describes itself as “a progressive organization working to grow Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government.” Toward that end, LV is dedicated to “empowering Latino voters, developing a pipeline of Latino …

Lamenting that “the number of Latinos elected to public office” in the U.S. is “dangerously low,” Latino Victory (LV) describes itself as “a progressive organization working to grow Latino political power by increasing Latino representation at every level of government.” Toward that end, LV is dedicated to “empowering Latino voters, developing a pipeline of Latino donors, and developing Latino candidates” for public office. The organization pursues these objectives through three subsidiary entities: (1) the Latino Victory Fund, a political action committee that “identifies, recruits, and develops” potential candidates; (2) the Latino Victory Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that aims to “raise awareness about Latinos’ contributions to the American society”; and (3) the Latino Victory Project, a 501(c)4 nonprofit that seeks to help “develo[p] the next generation of Latino leaders and shap[e] public discourse in a way that reflects the growing influence of the Latino community.”

One of LV’s key initiatives is its Money In Politics program, which strives to rid the political arena of “the negative impact” of “dark money,” the proliferation of which has allegedly created “a democracy that favors the wealthy” over “Latino candidates” who often “are outspent and outmatched.”

LV was co-founded in May 2014 by the popular television/film actress Eva Longoria and the businessman/designer Henry R. Muñoz III, the latter of whom co-founded TheDream.US, a national scholarship foundation for young illegal aliens.

Abby Loisel was an organizer for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Mayra Macias once worked for U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and for the Florida Democratic Party.

Megan Nashban was a fundraising manager at Hillary For America (2016).

Stuart Appelbaum has been a high-ranking official with the AFL-CIO and several other labor unions, and was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to the Regional Economic Development Committee for New York City.

Kyle Ferrari-Munoz was a member of Hillary For America’s National Finance Committee in 2016.

In October 2017, LV ran a video ad that depicted Ed Gillespie, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, as a man whose views and values were consistent with those of racists and neo-Nazis. Specifically, the ad showed a black pickup truck with a pro-Gillespie bumper sticker, a Confederate flag flapping in the wind, a Tea Party license plate, and a white driver attempting to run down terrified nonwhite children as well as a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf. The ad closed with the image of a group of torch-bearing neo-Nazis who had infamously held a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia several weeks earlier, with a voice-over that asked: “Is this what [President] Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by The American Dream?” (Click here to view the ad.)

When Republicans and conservatives subsequently condemned the ad, LV President Cristobal J. Alex said: “We knew our ad would ruffle feathers. We held a mirror up to the Republican Party, and they don’t like what they see…. [W]e will be placing other powerful ads into rotation that highlight the reasons we need to elect progressive leaders in Virginia.” In a separate statement, LV vowed: “We will not shy away from calling racism for what it is. Our community deserves champions. That’s why we’re in this fight. We won’t stop.”